This afternoon was AMAZING! The best part was I got to share it with my son, Alex. I raced home to get him off the bus and the first thing he has to say to me is “Dad, will you take me fishing today?” Ah, YES!! We loaded up the gear and hit the road. The weather was fantastic today and the boy wanted to go out fishing, does life get much better..the answer is yes, the fish are biting very well in the north metro and we got to experience it first hand. Gills and crappies kept us very busy all afternoon, until we ran out of bait.
My plan this afternoon was to just sit back and watch. I drilled one hole, set up the house and gave Alex the flasher. It took us about 30 seconds to pull our first fish up the hole. It was a small gill but we were on fish! We sat in one spot until the sun went down and hammered fish hand over fist. As fast as I could put on another wax worm and send it down the hole, Alex was setting the hook. Just the kind of bite you want to get a kid on. We did not get into a lot of big fish this afternoon but the constant action more then made up for the size. I can’t think of a better way to have spent the afternoon.
Alex and I set up away from the crowds this afternoon and to be very honest, that is the reason we had such a good day on the ice. I have been out a number of times over the last week and getting away from the noise makes a big difference. The fish we were on tonight were very active, willing to come up off the bottom 2-3 feet, easy fishing for the little man. A simple spring set up, red fat boy and a few wax worms did the trick for us today. As it started to get dark, keeping the jig glowing turned chasing fish into biters for us. Pounding the jig on the bottom and bringing it up a foot or two also helped bring in active fish willing to bite. When the sun went down the bite was over for us. We packed it up and hit the road.
As Alex was driving us off the lake we ran across a big block of ice, an old spear hole. Alex wanted to stop to check it out and we did. He asked a bunch of questions about why it was there and what spearing is all about. We took a quick photo per his request. He was very impressed with the big block of ice. Back into the truck we went and headed home. I made it about 5 minutes away from the lake and Alex was out, sound asleep. Fishing is hard work when you are 6 1/2 years old! These are the times in my life that I will cherish forever, I love this stuff.
GAME OVER
Way to go Alex!!!
I’ll be the first to admit, Ice fishing is a lot of work!
Pete
Great read Bob…Fishing with your dad or son is something very special. I learned a lot about life during these fishing trips and more importantly I found out it is not always about catching fish. I am sure Alex will pass this tradition on when his time comes….Great report.
Alex,
You ARE the MAN…
way to go on some nice fish.
Don’t forget your homework !!!
Jack
Team Bowman Locks up with Pannies. I can attest to the wore out feeling Alex! Great job boys, and is there anything more important than getting the “Chillins” hooked on fishing!! Kudos Bob!!
Another great trip for Bob and Alex!!!
I miss those days of sleeping on the way home, if I go fishing with my dad now I’m the one doing the driving and he’s the one sleeping.
Cherish it Bob and before you know it he’ll be driving and you can snooze.
Nice read Bob! This definitely takes me back to the days when my dad took me ice fishing.
Your report says you two didn’t get many decent size panfish but that bluegill Alex is holding up in the first picture sure looks like a good one to me!
I just finished reading a post about hots spots on pool 8. In that post one fellow laments that fishing is only a means to harvesting fish. I think that fellow needs to read this fishing report.
Harvesting fish
Very Nice Bob, I cant wait till the girls get a little older to take them out in the wheel house. Its just to bad it wont be to the north metro lake if the DNR’s plan stays in place.
What a great panfishery that they are going to take away from our kids.
Momma gave the the ok to go out Sunday afternoon if anyone is around.
Joel,
We have been averaging a few big Bulls everytime out, they did not show up last night. It was a number thing last night, either way it was a hell of a good time. I still have a smile on my face this morning
Passing it on
Great job Dad!! 
Like the new use for the Dunwright Bump board
, it folds up perfectly in my flip over shack 
Yes,I use to take my boy icefishing and now he takes me,some of the best times of my life were taking my son ice fishing,and we still have a great time,although now he has a strikemaster and all I had was a hand Mora.
Nothing like a good night on the ice with you’re boy to put a little pep in you’re step!
AMEN to that
Great read…puts a smile on my face
><(((>
Way cool stuff Mr. Bowman
that was a cool read! way to go!
Awsome! My son just turned 3 and I can’t wait to experience the outdoors like that with him. Thanks for sharing.
Ryan
Awesome job as always brother!!
Great job guys
DING, DING… ROUND TWO
I picked Alex up after school this afternoon and we headed back out again. The bite again was RED HOT. I shot a ton of video of Alex doing his thing. Spring in hand, the kid put on a clinic. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed myself this afternoon, just watching Alex work fish, he did a fantastic job. I am not sure that this smile is ever going to leave my face
. After lots and lots of trips, he finally is getting the hang of this all on his own. The next question is, who has an old flasher they would like to part ways with 
We made a good attempt to fish two rods today, I just could not hold up my end of the deal, fishing blind and I was still missing fish left and right, most of which were when I finally got a chance to pick my rod up again and there was a fish there.
Alex video
Missing fish, just like the old man!!!
Thats great video. I cant wait till the kids get a little older. Awsome josb Bob
I am with you all the way on this one Bob, nothing like time in the shack alone with your son.
My little guy is getting to be quite the fisherman. He has even learned a lot of the lingo. Most of the bad words he leaves up north on Lake of the Woods though 
Don’t tell mom. Great report and videos.
Nice Job Alex
John
Very nice bud!
We need to get the boys out.
Great report Bob